SEATTLE, Wash. - The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team defeated Simon Fraser in the first round of the 2022 GNAC Men's Basketball Championships. With the win, the Nanooks survive and advance to the quarterfinals where they will face the #2-seeded Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks.

Simon Fraser held an early lead after the first half, taking a 36-38 lead into the locker room. Following the break, the Nanooks came out and won the second, outscoring SFU 43-41 to force the extra period. In OT, the Nanooks outscored Simon Fraser 12-4 to run away with the win. To open up the first, Wilfried Balata made it 0-3 SFU fresh off the tip. It only took 30 seconds for Shadeed Shabazz to answer with a three of his own, setting the pace of play early. The two sides quickly continued their hot offense. In the first, Alaska shot 42.9% from the field and from three while SFU shot 40% from the field and 38.5% from three. 

Out of a media timeout at the 15:51 marker, SFU made it a 7-10 game on a pair of David Penney free throws. Abdullahi Mohamed pulled Alaska within one on a bucket in the paint before Shabazz tied it on a driving layup, giving him nine early points. After a Koby Huerta bucket gave the 'Nooks a lead, Simon Fraser stormed out in front, pushing their lead to 13-19 on eight-straight points. They maintained the lead, growing it to seven at its peak. Following an offensive foul drawn by Tybenn Sturm, Shabazz knocked down a jumper to pull back within four. They quickly answered again, making it a one-point deficit, but SFU had an answer to every run Alaska made in the first. Finally, with three seconds remaining in the half, Koby Huerta drilled a three to make it a 36-38 game heading into the break. At the break, Shadeed Shabazz led all scorers with 18 points on 6-13 shooting from the floor. Huerta and Mohamed were the only other Nanooks with more than two points, adding eight and five, respectively. 

After coming out of the locker rooms, the Nanooks followed up with six-straight points after SFU opened the half with a made field goal. 

Coleman Sparling scored four-straight, tying the game at 40-40. Alaska regained the lead for a short amount of time on a pair of Mohamed free throws, but Simon Fraser answered with five-straight to make it 44-47 with 15:45 left in the second. After trading leads for nearly 10 minutes, Willie Thomas III hit back-to-back buckets to take a 64-62 lead with 6:44 left. This shifted the momentum for Alaska. They pushed ahead by six with 48 seconds remaining on a pair of Shabazz free throws that gave him 34 points at the time. SFU quickly cut the lead in half, knocking down a three with 38 seconds left. 

Simon Fraser answered again, this time with nine seconds left, pulling within two on another three. Following the three, Shabazz was fouled, going to the line, looking to ice the game. Unfortunately, he made the front end but missed the backend and after a scramble and a loose ball out near midcourt, David Penney put up a prayer and banked in a buzzer-beater to force overtime in the Brougham Pavilion on the campus of SPU. 

To start overtime, Simon Fraser looked to carry much of the momentum, scoring the first four points, taking a 79-83 lead. Following a 30-second timeout by Alaska, the Nanooks cut into the lead and never looked back. Mohamed made it a two-point deficit and Shabazz followed to tie it at 83-83. Coleman Sparling used a free throw to regain the lead before hitting, arguably, the shot of the night. After Huerta secured a defensive rebound, he found Sparling from deep and with 38 seconds remaining, he nailed a three, making it 87-83 Nanooks. Koby Huerta and Shadeed Shabazz knocked down their final two free throws each, putting the game away at 91-83.

Shabazz led the way with 41 points on 14-28 shooting, 12-13 from the free-throw line, seven rebounds, six steals and three assists. His 41 points fell one-short of his own GNAC Championships record of 42 points in a single-game, which was posted on March 5, 2020 against Western Oregon. Coleman Sparling posted a big 15 points and five rebounds while grabbing one steal. Mohamed ended the night with 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Koby Huerta was the final Nanook in double-digits, adding 10 and five assists. 

Head coach Greg Sparling was proud of his team's efforts tonight, "It was a big win for our program tonight. We played well against a very good Simon Fraser team. Shadeed had a very nice game, scoring 41 points with six steals. I thought Coleman had a very big second half and overtime; he ended up with 15 and hit a big three in OT. Koby had 10 points and five assists and that was big for us. Now we have a quick turnaround for Northwest Nazarene."

The Nanooks remain in Seattle for the GNAC Championships quarterfinal matchup against the #2-seeded Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks. Tip-off is scheduled for Thursday, March 3 at 4:15 p.m. AKT in the Brougham Pavilion at Seattle Pacific University. 

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter, @AlaskaMensBasketball on Instagram, or like the Alaska Nanooks athletics page on Facebook.